Fisher-Rosemount Announces the Addition of DeltaV Inspect to PlantWeb.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 1999--

Fisher-Rosemount announced today the availability of DeltaV Inspect(tm).

This newest addition to the growing suite of advanced control products from Fisher-Rosemount allows plant engineers and instrument technicians to maximize plant profitability and process performance.

DeltaV Inspect continuously monitors and records the performance of analog and discrete measurement devices, control valve actuators and control loops. DeltaV Inspect interfaces with both fieldbus and conventional field devices and takes full advantage of the FOUNDATION(tm) fieldbus function block architecture used by the DeltaV system. Using a patent pending architecture, intelligence is distributed within DeltaV and PlantWeb(tm) fieldbus devices. DeltaV Inspect is a standard feature with every DeltaV system and makes improving plant performance easy because the software can be used with zero configuration effort. As new measurements, actuators and control loops are added or modified, DeltaV Inspect automatically adapts to account for these changes.

"DeltaV Inspect virtually eliminates the need for a plant to depend on outside experts or tools to identify control, measurement or actuator problems," said Jim Hoffmaster, president of Fisher-Rosemount Systems. "This product permits our customers to easily and quickly identify and resolve problems that impact plant performance."

"The DeltaV Inspect product is yet another example of how Fisher-Rosemount Systems is leading the way in delivering easy-to-use advanced control applications that improve plant performance. The performance of every control and measurement element is continuously examined with a time resolution that is just not possible using traditional technology, such as data collectors," stated Mike Reitzel, vice president of marketing at Fisher-Rosemount Systems. "Since DeltaV Inspect automatically summarizes under-performing loops, measurements and actuators, users may examine process and control system performance remotely through Intranets or Internet connections."

DeltaV Inspect automatically detects abnormal operating conditions that increase process variability. Several process conditions are continuously examined by DeltaV Inspect, such as the percent time an input measurement is limited or has bad or uncertain status. For control loops, performance is determined based on standard deviation calculations. These calculations are performed as an integral part of DeltaV and fieldbus function block execution. Based on these calculations, the percent deviation from best possible control is reported as a variability index. These indicators of abnormal operation and control performance are used by DeltaV Inspect to highlight the measurements, actuators or control loops that require attention. More information on DeltaV Inspect is available at the DeltaV Web site, http://www.easyDeltaV.com/.

The revolutionary PlantWeb architecture changes the economics of process automation and the DeltaV system makes it EASY. Fisher-Rosemount Systems is a member of the Fisher-Rosemount group of companies -- leading the way and delivering results with innovative process management solutions. Fisher-Rosemount is part of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR).